Sexual violence occurs in our communities, and the last year has begun to demonstrate just how often. But what next? How do we move forward after an incident of sexual violence or harassment involving members of our community? Acknowledging the impact of an incident on not only the survivor but the community as a whole is essential to preventing retraumatization and future harmful behavior. How can communities address the traumatization of the survivor and those around them? What does a trauma-informed community look like?

Further, our society is just beginning to hold perpetrators of sexual violence accountable for their actions, and the way we know how to do this is punishment and criminalization. However, punishment of the perpetrator may come at the cost of a broader conversation about the culture that allowed the incident to occur.Therefore, the goal may not be punishment, but self-reflection and behavior change of the perpetrator. If this is the case, can, or should, reintegration eventually be part of healing? How can a person demonstrate that they have taken steps to change such that that they could return to being a trusted member of the community, and how can the community collectively acknowledge and monitor those changes? What does healing a community healing mean for the survivor, the perpetrator, and everyone else?